Glycosylation is a topic of intense current interest in the development of biopharmaceuticals because it is related to drug safety and efficacy. This work describes results of an interlaboratory study on the glycosylation of the Primary Sample (PS) of NISTmAb, a monoclonal antibody reference material. Seventy-six laboratories from industry, university, research, government, and hospital sectors in Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia submitted a total of 103 reports on glycan distributions. The principal objective of this study was to report and compare results for the full range of analytical methods presently used in the glycosylation analysis of mAbs. Therefore, participation was unrestricted, with laboratories choosing their own measurement techniques. Protein glycosylation was determined in various ways, including at the level of intact mAb, protein fragments, glycopeptides, or released glycans, using a wide variety of methods for derivatization, separation, identification, and quantification. Consequently, the diversity of results was enormous, with the number of glycan compositions identified by each laboratory ranging from 4 to 48. In total, one hundred sixteen glycan compositions were reported, of which 57 compositions could be assigned consensus abundance values. These consensus medians provide community-derived values for NISTmAb PS. Agreement with the consensus medians did not depend on the specific method or laboratory type. The study provides a view of the current state-of-the-art for biologic glycosylation measurement and suggests a clear need for harmonization of glycosylation analysis methods.
As more protein biopharmaceuticals are produced using mammalian cell culture techniques, it becomes increasingly important for the biopharmaceutical industry to have tools to characterize the cell culture media and evaluate its impact on the cell culture performance. Exposure of the cell culture media to light, temperature stress, or adventitious introduction of low-level organisms during preparation can lead to the generation of chemical degradants or metabolites of the media components, which are potentially detrimental to the cell culture process. In this work, we applied a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry based metabolomics methodology for the investigation of a media lot used for a mammalian cell culture process that had resulted in low growth rate and failure to meet required viable cell density (VCD). The study led to the observation of increased levels of tryptophan oxidation products and a riboflavin degradant, lumichrome, in the malfunctioning media lot, relative to working media lots. A compound found 7-fold higher in the working media lots appeared to be tetrahydropentoxyline, a condensation product of glucose and tryptophan. A second compound found at an over 50-fold higher level in the malfunctioning media lot with a proposed molecular formula of C(21)H(17)N(3)O(3) from high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) analysis remains unknown, although it is confirmed to be a degradant of tryptophan in the media. A study of the cell culture media performed under stress conditions using fluorescent light and heat showed that the media powder was highly resistant to light-induced degradation, while solution media could be easily degraded after brief light exposure. It is therefore suspected that inadvertent exposure of the media to light during preparation and storage has resulted in the poor performance of the media causing the low growth and VCD in the cell culture process.
Detailed profiling of both enzymatic (e.g., glycosylation) and non-enzymatic (e.g., oxidation and deamidation) post-translational modifications (PTMs) is frequently required for the quality assessment of protein-based drugs. Challenging as it is, this task is further complicated for the so-called second-generation biopharmaceuticals, which also contain "designer PTMs" introduced to either enhance their pharmacokinetic profiles (e.g., PEGylated proteins) or endow them with therapeutic activity (e.g., protein-drug conjugates). Such modifications of protein covalent structure can dramatically increase structural heterogeneity, making the very notion of "molecular mass" meaningless, as ions representing different glycoforms of a PEGylated protein may have nearly identical distributions of ionic current as a function of m/z, making their contributions to the mass spectrum impossible to distinguish. In this work we demonstrate that a combination of ion exchange chromatography (IXC) with on-line detection by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI MS) and methods of ion manipulation in the gas phase (limited charge reduction and collision-induced dissociation) allows meaningful structural information to be obtained on a structurally heterogeneous sample of PEGylated interferon β-1a. IXC profiling of the protein sample gives rise to a convoluted chromatogram with several partially resolved peaks which can represent both deamidation and different glycosylation patterns within the protein, as well as varying extent of PEGylation. Thus, profiling the protein with on-line IXC/ESI/MS/MS allows it to be characterized by providing information on three different types of PTMs (designer, enzymatic and non-enzymatic) within a single protein therapeutic.
Analytical methods are utilized throughout the biopharmaceutical and vaccines industries to conduct research and development, and to help control manufacturing inputs and outputs. These analytical methods should continuously provide quality data to support decisions while managing the remaining of risk and uncertainty. Analytical quality by design (AQbD) can provide a systematic framework to achieve a continuously validated, robust assay as well as life cycle management. AQbD is rooted in ICH guidelines Q8 and Q9 that were translated to the analytical space through several white papers as well as upcoming USP 1220 and ICH Q14. In this white paper, we expand on the previously published concepts of AQbD by providing additional context for implementation in relation to ICH Q14. Using illustrative examples, we describe the AQbD workflow, its relation to traditional approaches, and potential pathways for ongoing, real-time verification. We will also discuss challenges with respect to implementation and regulatory strategies.
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